Even the Strong Shall Fall
by Kelekiah Galadrian
Summary: What if Allen Walker had lost hope after Suman Dark's death? What-if, may be considered AU. Mangaverse. Possible spoilers. Lenalee's POV. Onesided LenaleeXAllen


**Lego: **Hey guys. Long time no see, eh? It's been so long since I've been here. Sorry for the long absence. I've been meaning to work on MS, but I'm really stuck and life happens XP Oh well, I guess. Anyway, I've been rereading the DGM manga (it's gotten really confusing, so I thought it would be best to start over again), and had the sudden urge to write a DGM oneshot. This is what became of it. As the summary says, it's based off the manga with a couple tweaks (that's why it's considered AU), and features some onesided LenaleeXAllen. I also wrote it in first person from Lenalee's POV, which is odd 'cause I hate writing first person. Go figure. Just as a warning, this is very depressing and angsty. Forgive me for that. I couldn't help it. Anyway, I hope it's better than it sounds.

**Disclaimer: **The DGM franchise, plot, and characters belong to Hoshino Katsura, not me. I own the idea for the story and the writing itself. That's it. If I owned DMG . . . well . . . I dunno what I'd do with it. . . .

_**Even the Strong Shall Fall**_

Although we all expected it, none of us wanted to admit that Allen's willingness to help everyone would eventually get him into trouble. We could never have imagined, however, how deep that trouble would be.

Everyone knew what he'd been through—abandonment by his parents, his surrogate father's death, turning him into an akuma, his apprenticeship with Cross. He'd made new friends—Lavi, Miranda, Krory, me—and made vows to protect the people of this world from the akuma, Noah, and Millennium Earl. We thought he was safe, protected, and had convinced ourselves so. After all, he _is _the Destroyer of Time. How naive we were.

I can't even begin to tell you when I started to fall for him. Ever since I first laid eyes on him, I knew he would grow close to my heart. That's why it makes it so much harder to know I couldn't help him in his time of greatest need.

Though I didn't know him as well as I would've liked to, it nearly ripped my soul apart when I heard Suman Dark had fallen. I couldn't believe such a thing could happen. Suman had always been synchronized with his Innocence. I never wanted to think about the reason why he fell.

Even as our former companion wallowed in the pain of falling, Allen leapt forward to help. He had always been that way, so it wasn't a surprise that he spent so much time trying to relieve Suman of his pain. Allen was such a kind and caring soul. My heart yearns for the happiness that will never be his.

While Allen struggled in his endeavors, I talked to my elder brother about Suman and, in utter disbelief, learned that no one who had fallen ever survived. They couldn't be saved. The two halves of my heart felt like they were being split once more. I feared for both Suman and Allen and prayed they both would make it out alright. Naturally, my prayers were in vain.

I'm not exactly sure what happened after that, but I knew Allen had destroyed the giant entity that had been terrorizing the Chinese village moments before. Everything after that is a blur—Allen never wanted to speak about it, so it took us a while to get even some semblance of the story out of him. He later told us that Suman hadn't survived. He was a soulless body and nothing more.

Despite Allen's attempts, Suman ended up dying, though Allen never described how. All we know is that one of the Noah, Tyki Mikk, appeared before him, killed Suman somehow, and took Allen's Innocence away from him. I later found out from Bak that Fo had found him near death. It's hard to come to terms with what Tyki had done to him, and I curse the man for ever doing so. Allen changed because of him.

I didn't see Allen after he told me to leave him, not for a long time, anyway. When I saw him again, it was as though he had died that day. I couldn't fathom what had gone wrong until Bak showed me a stream of journal entries Bak had written.

_Day 1. Allen woke up today. He didn't seem to know where he was. Even though I introduced myself and tried to explain, he freaked out on us. I guess he noticed his lack of an arm, his Innocence. He locked himself in the room we provided and refused to come out. I hope he's okay. Maybe he'll be better tomorrow._

_Day 2. Allen refuses to listen to us. He won't come out and any attempts to get in are futile. I don't know how he's doing it, but he's blocked us somehow. This isn't good for him. He needs to get some nutrients soon. He's skinny enough as is, though I must admit, he doesn't need as much food without his Innocence feeding on his energy. No attempts to draw him out have worked._

_Day 4. Allen's gone quiet. We know he's in there even if he doesn't speak. I pray to God he comes out soon. I know we're all strangers suddenly, but it seems as though he's given up. I can't let Lenalee know that yet. It would be too painful for her._

_Day 8. Allen finally came out of that blasted room. He's a rugged mess. His hair is droopy, eyes blood-shot from what, I don't know, but I think he's been crying. He won't talk to any of us and he's scared some of the scientists away with that empty gaze of his. We managed to force feed him some food and ran some tests to check his strength. He returned to his room tonight without saying a word._

_Day 9. After we dragged Allen out of that room today, I checked it to see if I could figure out what he'd been doing—judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he hasn't slept a wink in days. Both Allen and the spare room reeked of vomit and I checked the corner to find yesterday's dinner in a puddle of goo. Can't believe the brat puked it all back up. He's acting ridiculous!_

_Day 15. The light is completely gone from Allen's eyes and he's no longer moving. He just lies on the bed and stares at the ceiling. Something's very wrong. It seems as though he can't hear us when we speak to him. Twice have I offered a solution to his problem, but I don't think he even comprehends my words. We're all at a loss for what to do. I'm not even sure there's anything we _can _do._

I remember the day 'nii-san finally let me visit Allen for the first time since Suman's death, 27 days since they moved him to the China branch. The memory is so vivid, it frightens me. I couldn't help fidgeting as we—meaning Lavi and I—waited for Bak to bring Allen in.

When my old friend finally came into view, shudders overtook me and I couldn't help the expression of horror that overcame my face. Allen stared at me with wide, blood-shot eyes rimmed with dark circles. They were empty and emotionless and nearly brought me to tears. They looked out from underneath messy, unkempt hair that had darkened to a light shade of gray. His pale skin stretched out over his bones and made him look more skeletal than human. The skin had sunken in on his face and gave him a gaunt and sallow look, which only added to the dead look in his eyes. He reeked of urine and puke and looked as though he hadn't bathed for weeks. I'm certain that was only because Allen had rejected any and all treatments for nourishment and hygiene.

A sad realization came over me just then. The Allen I once knew was gone. My sorrow only intensified when Bak informed me that Allen wasn't expected to live more than three more days.

30 days after Allen was moved to the China branch, he finally passed. I hate that memory. I hate how clear it is in my mind, every detail. I wish it would fade like the rest of my memories have.

I awoke that morning and rushed to the spare room Allen had been using. During my short visit there, I'd gone to his room every day and spent countless hours with him. I did my best to try and cheer him up; even getting a response out of him would have been satisfying. No matter how hard I tried, however, he remained dead to the world, as though all life had left him.

I knocked on the door before opening it, saying his name with a smile. All I got in return was a pale corpse whose owner had finally lost the will to live. I fell to my knees as tears poured from my eyes. I couldn't believe my Allen was gone. No longer would I hear his melodious voice or contagious laughter. No longer would he comfort me when I was down. No longer would he fight beside me or protect me in a fight. No. Allen Walker had left us. We knew him no more.

We cremated him that night and set up a monument in any branch we could. We wanted to honor him, our last hope in the fight against the Earl. He was a good friend and companion, a mighty warrior. We would always remember him. Never could I forget such a person, the only one I'd ever fallen in love with.

Looking back these many years later, I suppose we were doomed that day. As the Destroyer of Time, Allen Walker was indeed our last hope. I can only ever imagine what it would be like if he'd found the strength to fight on. For now, we remember him for what he was and struggle on as exorcists in the war we are losing.

Even though Allen Walker is gone, his spirit is still with us.

_**~Lenalee Li**_


End file.
